Errastas
Errastas was worshipped as an Elder God and known as the Errant by enclaves of the Imass, Barghast, and Trell, as well as the Letherii. The Letherii regarded him as an "eternally mysterious purveyor of chance, fateful circumstance and ill-chosen impulses" and held a yearly festival in his honour.Midnight Tides, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.197 He was the Master of the Holds (or Master of the Tiles), an older title equivalent to the Master of the Deck for the Deck of Dragons. The people of Korel knew him as the Great Deceiver.Stonewielder, Chapter 2, US HC p.121 In Midnight Tides Under the pseudonym Turudal Brizad, Errastas lived in the city of Letheras as First Consort to Janall Diskanar, the Letherii queen.Midnight Tides, Chapter 2 In his guise as First Consort, he had soft, almost feminine features and usually affected a studied indifference.Midnight Tides, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.190 King's Champion Brys Beddict found him strangely disturbing. The First Consort was a regular silent presence at even the most sensitive meetings of state. It was well known about the Old Palace that he shared his bed with other lovers besides the Queen and it was rumoured his conquests included Chancellor Triban Gnol. The Errant's time in Letheras had actually spanned several generations, and he appeared in a number of historical tapestries and paintings.Midnight Tides, Chapter 22 By fading into the background, Turudal Brizad often eavesdropped on discussions of sensitive issues.Midnight Tides, Chapter 6 He was very attractive to both sexes and often accommodated his admirers.Midnight Tides, Chapter 10 Not wishing to see a return of the Great Slaughter of the T'lan Imass, the Errant intervened in The Pack's attempts to reach ascendancy.Midnight Tides, Chapter 20, US SFBC p.610 He attempted to recruit Moroch Nevath as his champion to slay the D'ivers god of the Jheck.Midnight Tides, Chapter 10, US SFBC p. When Moroch failed to accept the challenge, the Errant approached Bugg. He denied the manservant's claims that his influence had been at the heart of the Kingdom of Lether's problems, and refused to take responsibility for "human nature". He was unable to take direct action as his aspect enforced certain prohibitions — he could only influence others with a nudge of the push or the pull.Midnight Tides, Chapter 23, US SFBC p.696 The Pack was ultimately slain by Bugg's champions, Iron Bars and his Crimson Guardsmen. The Errant used his nudges to obscure the fight from the hordes of onrushing Jheck until it was too late. But as Iron Bars left the Pack's temple, a particularly large wolf appeared and lunged towards the Errant. Iron Bars grabbed it in midair and crushed its skull into the street. The astonished Errant identified the wolf as B'nagga, the Jheck's leader. He offered the Guard a clear path through the city to their ship.Midnight Tides, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.705-708 The Errant later appeared in the throne room of the Eternal Domicile to witness the Seventh Closure and the confrontation between King Ezgara Diskanar and the invading Emperor Rhulad Sengar. When Brys Beddict appeared to have successfully defeated the immortal Rhulad by incapacitating and not killing him, the Errant nudged the King's Champion into fatally drinking a poisoned glass of wine. Then he nudged the Guardian of the Names to take Brys' body to Mael. Midnight Tides, Chapter 25, US SFBC p.731-732/754 In The Bonehunters The ancient Jaghut, Ganath, met Ganoes Paran shortly after she escaped her barrow prison of millennia near Raraku. When Paran introduced himself as the Master of the Deck, she theorised the position was something like the Errant's role as Master of the Holds in her time. She named the Errant an Ascendant who was worshipped as a God and whose worshippers kept his mouth so filled with blood that he never knew thirst — or peace. His followers used the sacrificed blood of the innocent to beseech his intercession on their behalf. In her words, the Errant had thought to defeat their efforts by becoming the god of change and had "walked the path of neutrality, yet flavoured it with a pleasure taken in impermanence." His enemy was ennui and stagnation, which led the Forkrul Assail to seek the annihilation of him and his mortal followers. With Paran's revelation that the Deck of Dragons had replaced the Tiles of the Holds, Ganath wondered how the god had fallen since her time. Perhaps the Forkrul Assail had succeeded.The Bonehunters, Chapter 8, US SFBC p.393 In Reaper's Gale The Errant had one of his eyes removed in a scuffle with the human Feather Witch. The Letherii slave then swallowed the eye. This connected him with Feather Witch, who had power over him as a priestess, until he drowned her. He caused the death of Trull Sengar by prodding Sirryn Kanar. He redirected Hannan Mosag's magic into the ground, saving the population of Letheras. In Dust of Dreams (Information needed) In The Crippled God (Information needed) In Forge of Darkness Errastas was revealed to be one of the sons of Grizzin Farl and an unnamed Azathanai. Kilmandaros was his step-mother. He was one of two Azathanai to murder the wife of Hood, the other being his step brother, Sechul Lath. He used her blood to make the Terondai, which opened the gate to Darkness for Draconus. Errastas resented K'rul's decision to give power away by creating the Warrens. He hoped to empower Mother Dark as a way to distract K'rul while he and his step-brother acted against him.Forge of Darkness, Chapter 8, UK HC p.227 In Dancer's Lament In the time before the Malazan Empire, the Azathanai Sister Night made camp near the city of Li Heng, which was besieged by the army of King Chulalorn the Third of Itko Kan. The Errant appeared unwelcome in the night with his habitual sneer, seated as a ghostly figure at her campfire. He prodded Sister Night for information regarding the game he sensed playing amongst their "cousins". He sensed an opening gambit setting the "enormous dusty wheels of fate...grinding into motion once again." He was worried that "they" had withdrawn and he no longer knew what "they" intended, and he chastised Sister Night for not concerning herself with the bigger picture.Dancer's Lament, Chapter 3, US HC p.72-75 When Sister Night shrugged off his concerns and insulted his intelligence, the Errant threatened that she was vulnerable and "a nudge here or there and you could find yourself dead." While only a ghost here, he claimed to possess greater influence "elsewhere". The Errant was startled into flight by the unexpected appearance of K'rul at his back. Sister Night told K'rul she feared the Errant would try to interfere in events. K'rul mused that those least fit to hold or wield power lusted after it the most, but "another was in place to keep an eye on the Errant." Expressions The Letherii frequently referred to the Errant in their profanity and expressions. Examples: *"By the Errant"Reaper's Gale, Chapter 3, BCA edition, p.78 *"Errant save us"Reaper's Gale, Chapter 3, BCA edition, p.83 * "Errant take me"Reaper's Gale, Chapter 4, BCA edition, p.98 *"For Errant's sake"Midnight Tides, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.71 Notes and references de:Der Abtrünnige Category:Azathanai Category:Males Category:Elder Gods